The Original Heroes of Bollywood: Dev Anand

Even after being present at the scene of Hindi cinema for more than five decades,

Dev Anand's charisma refuses to fade away. Born as Devdutt Pishorimal Anand, he harboured only one dream since his early years: to become a movie star. He soon realised that his name is not suitable for being one and he became Dev Anand, a name that had an unmistakable starry and urbane appeal at that point of time.

The Beginning

An arts graduate from Lahore, Dev Anand first landed in the city of dreams Mumabi in 1943. And, he was instantly awestruck by the brilliance of the city. He started working in the military censor office in Churchgate for a handsome salary of Rs 200. In 1946, came the breakthrough when he was offered a role in the movie Hum Ek Hain by Prabhat Talkies. It was during the shooting of this film in Pune that Dev Anand befriended another legend: Guru Dutt. The two of them exchanged shirts, double dated and most importantly shared the same dream: to make it big in the B-town. It is said that the actors made a pact according to which if Dev Anand produced a film, Guru Dutt would direct it and when Guru Dutt directed a film, Dev Anand would act in it. By the end of forties, Dev Anand had become a well-known figure in Hindi cinema.

Rise to Stardom

In 1949, Dev and his elder brother launched their home production company called Navketan Films. Soon he started getting plenty of offers to star opposite singer-actress Suraiya. The two of them were paired in six films together: Vidya (1948), Jeet(1949), Shair (1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951) and Sanam (1951) and all these movies did really well on the box office. The two actors got romantically linked during the shooting of film Vidya where Dev Anand is said to have saved Suraiya from drowning. Unfortunately, the two of them never got married as they practiced different religions and Suraiya's maternal grandmother mother was against their nuptial union.

Dev Anand's first film with Guru Dutt as a director was Baazi (1951). The film saw the debut of Kalpana Karthik with whom he went on to pair-up in a number of films, the most prominent being Aandhiyan, 1954 Film, House No. 44 and Nau Do Gyarah. Dev Anand proposed to her on the sets of Taxi Driver and by 1954, the couple were married. They had a son two years later after which Kalpana declared her exit from the films.

Soon Dev Anand had developed his own trademark style which was much lauded (and imitated) at that time: a rapid-fire style of dialogue delivery, wearing different kinds of hats and a penchant for nodding. This style was prominently on display in movies like House No. 44, Pocket Maar, Munimji, Funtoosh, C.I.D. and Paying Guest. His first colour film, Guide, hit the cinemas in 1965. This critically-acclaimed movie was directed by his younger brother Vijay Anand and Waheeda Rehman starred opposite him. He again collaborated with his brother for hit films like Jewel Thief (1967) and Johnny Mera Naam (1970).

By the early 70s, actors like Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar started doing roles of men aged above 40. People started speculating that Dev Anand is also growing old and should go for serious roles. His charisma began to wane a bit and he had a run of some unsuccessful films. But he was not going to slow down so easily. He soon gathered the lost momentum when he romanced young heroines Yogita Bali and Rakhee in hits like Banarasi Babu (1973), Hema Malini in Chhupa Rustam (1973) and Amir Ghareeb(1974), Zeenat Aman in Heera Panna (1973), Warrant (1975) and Darling Darling (1977). And it was during this time when he delivered the master hit Hare Krishna Hare Ram, a movie which made Zeenat Aman an overnight sensation.

The X-Factor

His mantra of “never say never” and his own trademark style are the two things which have kept him going in Bollywood, a place known for cut-throat competition. His pairing up with the best heroines of his times: Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Vyajanthimala, Zeenat Aman, Simi Gerewal always exuded grace on the silver screen.

The Calling

Dev Anand has never hesitated from confessing that he was allured by the stardom and glamour Bollywood offered. For him, coming to Mumbai from Lahore in the 1940s was a serious business and not just a trip meant for job-hunting.

(dev anand with vijay anand and chetan anand)

Did you Know?

He is the brother of renowned film makers Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. His sister, Sheel, is the mother of famous director Shekhar Kapur.

While filming for the song 'Kinare kinare chale jayenge' opposite actress Suraiya for the film Vidya, a boat capsized and the actress started drowning. Dev rescued her and in true Bollywood style both fell in love and wanted to get married. This could not happen as the actress' maternal grandmother was against their marriage. Suraiya, who acted with Dev in half a dozen movies, remained unmarried all her life.

Dev Anand is credited with giving actors like Jackie Shroff in Swami Dada, Tabu in Hum Naujawan and Richa Sharma a break into the film industry and encouraging music composer Rajesh Roshan.

Dev Anand Now

The superstar just celebrated his 88th birthday on Septmember 26. Dev Anand is known for his never-ending penchant for producing movies and appearing in them on and off. His latest movie Chargesheet was released on the occasion of his birthday but bombed at the box office. Anand is working on the sequel of his hit film Hare Rama Hare Krishna.

His critics are always quick to lambast him and say that he's a spent force and should retire gracefully now. Little do they know that it's his confidence and sheer love for cinema which keeps him going. It's not for nothing that he has at least 30 national and international cinema awards in his kitty, including the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest award for cinematic excellence. MensXP wishes all the best to “evergreen Dev Sahab” and hopes that we'll a lot more of the veteran (but still young J) actor in times to come. (Entertainment, MensXP.com)